i) Chairman of Council
ii) Leader of the Council
iii) Head of Paid Service
Minutes:
Chairman
The Chairman addressed the Council, referencing briefly some of the events with which he had been involved and attended since Council last met.
It had been a privilege to represent the Council at the Memorial Service for former District Councillor, Alf Frith, it was a sad occasion for the family, but to hear of how Mr Frith had advocated for residents through his years of service was both positive and heartwarming.
The Chairman had raised the Flag for Emergency Services Day, outside of the Guildhall, thanking those who had attended. A worthy cause to be supported given the communities reliance on emergency services.
Other events attended included, Civic Services held by both North Lincolnshire Council and Lincolnshire County Council; a tour of Grimsby Docks, the Award Evening for the Lincolnshire College, where it had been a pleasure to see the students receive their qualifications and awards.
It had been an honour to attend the Destination Lincolnshire Awards Ceremony in October at the University of Lincoln. A handful of businesses from across the District were nominated for awards, with the Chairman delighted to advise that three businesses from West Lindsey had won an award and had now progressed to the National finals. Prior to the event the Chairman had spent time visiting all of those nominated and indicated his visits had been informative,
The Chairman had also commenced a round of industry visits, with the Leader and Deputy Leader, also taking part, and Ward Members. Again the visits had provided a lot of learning.
The Chairman had also offered his support to a number of Community and Family Days including, horse racing at the Market Rasen Community Day, a performance of Wind in the Willows at the Market Rasen Leisure Centre and a number of performances at the Trintiy Arts Centre in Gainsborough.
Bringing his announcements to an end, the Chairman spoke of visiting the depot to mark the retirement of a Council employee, who had worked for the Council for 44 years. It had been a privilege to mark the occasion and the Chairman wished to formally acknowledge and recognise the service and dedication of the employee, Mr Tony Stocks’, in Full Council.
Finally, the Chairman invited fellow Councillors to attend his Civic Community Christmas Carol Concert, at the Methodist Church in Market Rasen, on 8 December. The Claxby Community Choir would be performing and there would be light refreshments following the Service – all were welcome.
Leader
The Leader made the following address to Council: -
“Chairman, welcome to tonight's meeting, it's been several months since the last full Council meeting with lots to report, I will try and keep my announcements brief, I have the following items to report: -
The Scampton Asylum Centre proposal: -
Over the course of the last week, the High Court heard the substantive case of Judicial Review, this Council's challenge of the Home Office decision, to use RAF Scampton as a site for asylum accommodation. Our case, presented by our appointed legal team, supported by Officers, set out that the Home Office have failed to evidence a true emergency, in the terms required by planning legislation, known as the class Q, that they have not adequately assessed the environmental impacts of the proposal, and the impact of the community have simply been disregarded. Clearly, this Conservative Government have shown no respect for many of the servicemen who have lost their lives, to save our nation through the cold resurgence. We heard that the Home Office intended to secure a long term planning permission for the use of RAF Scampton through an unusual tool available to the Government, known as a Special Development Order. I have been clear as the Leader of the Council that the Home Office must not yet again seek to find a way round the public process by using an inappropriate planning tool. As is seen by our enforcement actions, we are committed to holding the Home Office to account and we will continue to use these powers to the best public interest. We will now await for Lady Justice Thorntons' judgment, and this will inform us of our next steps. Members will continue to receive updates in a timely manner and once we understand the outcome of these proceedings, I'll be able to set out more details of what this involvement will look like. Finally, on behalf of the Council, a very special thanks to Sally Grindrod-Smith, Rachel Hughes and their teams for the hard work they have done on behalf of this Authority, their efforts have been widely appreciated. The awareness of the fight for Scampton has been achieved through the hard work of our communications team and a big thanks to Julie Heath and Steve Cawthorne who have led on this work. Finally, I'd like to thank our neighbouring authorities for their kind comments and messages of support in the plight to Save RAF Scampton.
LIVES First Responders: -
The LIVES First Responders Service is a highly valued service and West Lindsey, have been pleased to support them in the development of a new headquarters building on the A15 Showground site. This partnership has demonstrated creativity and imagination in delivering this development, which will serve our District for many years to come.
Liaison with Town/Parish Councils: -
At the last full Council meeting I talked about working closely with our Town and Parish Councils and I'm pleased to report that regular meetings have commenced with our main towns and parishes. We aim to establish improved joint working between the Councils and a better engagement with local residents, the feedback has been extremely positive.
Savoy Cinema: -
Finally, Chairman, the Gainsborough Town Centre for the past 50 years has been in decline and lacked investment. Last Friday, myself and the Deputy Leader, Councillor Rollings, met Savoy Cinemas, to sign a landmark agreement, to deliver a £9m cinema and leisure development.
This agreement is part of a larger spending plan of £15m of investment for the town centre, and this financial investment, is the biggest, I think, ever made by this Authority, and it's a priority for the new Administration Group. Further updates will be provided regarding the Town Centre development over the coming months.
Thank you.”
Chief Executive
The Chief Executive addressed Council and was pleased to announce that West Lindsey had been shortlisted for two awards at the LGC Workforce Awards. Representatives of the Council would be attending a national event to present the Council’s submissions for:
· Best Next Generation Employer (six Councils shortlisted)
· Best Innovation in Smart Working – Jointly with the Council’s partner Technology One.(six Councils Shortlisted)
The Chief Executive briefly summarised to the Chamber the basis of each submission.
Both the Chief Executive and Leader had attended the LGA National Conference held in July. As always this had proven to be a useful networking event, linking with colleagues across the sector and providing opportunity to explore potential new initiatives.
Referencing the Scampton Judicial Review Hearing, thanks were expressed to Sally Grindrod Smith and Rachael Hughes for their work on the legal process and for ensuring West Lindsey were in the best possible position. Thanks were also paid to Management Team colleagues and Team Managers who continued to accommodate a range of additional meetings relating to Scampton, continuing to act as a “critical friend” to the Home Office.
Picking up on earlier comments, the Chief Executive paid his own tribute to staff for their work during Storm Babet. Special thanks were paid to Ady Selby, Emma Foy, Sarah Elvin and Veronica Edwards for covering the Fiskerton Information Centre over the weekend, supporting those residents who were evacuated. It was noted there remained a risk of flooding at Fiskerton, but this was reducing as the water levels subsided. Members noted a Lincolnshire Resilience Forum response plan was in place should there be any further issues in the area.
Finally, August had seen the successful recruitment to the role of Assistant Director of People and Democratic and Monitoring Officer. Ms Langdon was again formally welcomed to the organisation.
This brought announcements to a conclusion.